I'm not sure that any of this disputes the original post's claim that Apple's bread and butter is vendor lock-in and there are legitimate reasons for users to o

I'm not sure that any of this disputes the original post's claim that Apple's bread and butter is vendor lock-in and there are legitimate reasons for users to oppose this. It's not so much an indictment of Apple---pretty much everyone would like to find ways to keep their customers from jumping ship. In return, Apple has found a way to give their customers value in return for monopoly. By integrating all the parts--itunes (software and service), app store, ibooks, ipods, ipads, iphones, payments, etc---they can build things with a unified user experience that works. Why I don't like this is that it makes it nearly impossible for Apple users to benefit from non-apple innovation in any of these areas. Would you like to try someone else's tablet or phone? Well I hope you didn't need any of that content from inside the apple ecosystem. Want to try someone elses book or magazine store on your idevice? Well Apple is now in the process of constructing barriers to this as well. I don't accept your suggestion that people who don't like Apple's policies should "leave apple users alone" and choose an alternative. Problems like this can sometimes be mitigating by shedding light on them through discussion and complaint (i.e., the uproar about developing apps in alternative languages). At the very least, potential Apple customers need to be educated about the system they are buying into.